Vehicle geofence in a tracking device environment

ABSTRACT

A tracking system can provide intervention notifications to a user to notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost or is in a predicted state. The tracking system may notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost or in a predicted state based on a number of factors, including: a proximity of a tracking device to other tracking devices or a user&#39;s mobile device, a movement of a tracking device to more than a threshold distance away from a mobile device or other tracking devices, a location of a tracking device relative to a geographic location or to geographic boundaries, a usage or movement behavior of the tracking device, a usage or movement behavior of a user or owner of a tracking device, information received from an external source, or information received from sensors within the tracking device or a user&#39;s mobile.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/344,392, filed Jun. 1, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to tracking devices, and more specifically, to intervening on behalf of a user of a tracking device.

Users can attach tracking devices to one or more personal objects, such as keys, a phone, a car, a briefcase, and the like. The tracking device can communicatively couple to a mobile device of the user (or of a community member), and the mobile device can, in response to receiving a communication from the tracking device, determine a location of the mobile device (for instance, via a GPS receiver). The mobile device can then provide an identifier for the tracking device and the determined location of the mobile device to a cloud server, which can associate the tracking device with the determined location of the mobile device.

When a user loses an object coupled to a tracking device, the user must classify the object as lost. In other words, the user must take an affirmative action before the cloud server can identify the tracking device as lost. Thus, there is a need to be able to identify a tracking device as lost, unintentionally left behind, or stolen before an affirmative action is taken by the user, or (in some cases) before the user even knows the object is lost, left behind, or stolen. The cloud server can then inform the user that the object may be lost or left behind, beneficially improving the user's experience with the tracking device.

SUMMARY

A tracking system can provide intervention notifications to a user to notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost, or to notify a user of a predicted state of a tracking device. A user can attach a tracking device to or enclose the tracking device within an object, such as a wallet, keys, a car, a bike, a pet, or any other object that the user wants to track. The user can then use a mobile device (e.g., by way of a software application installed on the mobile device) or other device or service to track the tracking device and corresponding object. For example, the mobile device can perform a local search for a tracking device attached to a near-by object. However, in situations where the user is unable to locate the tracking device using their own mobile device (e.g., if the tracking device is beyond a distance within which the mobile device and the tracking device can communicate), the user can leverage the capabilities of a community of users of a tracking device system.

A tracking system intervention can include the tracking system transmitting a notification to the mobile device of the user describing the intervention. For example, the notification may notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost, meaning the user may have left the tracking device behind unintentionally. Additionally, the notification may notify the user that the tracking device is in a predicted state. An example predicted state can include a determination that an object coupled to the tracking device may be useful to the user, and the user does not currently possess the tracking device. The tracking system may allow the user to opt-in to the notifications and may configure a time and/or frequency of when the user receives notifications.

The tracking system can identify a tracking device as potentially lost or can predict a future state of the tracking device based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: a proximity of a tracking device to one or more additional tracking devices, a proximity of a tracking device to a user or the user's mobile device, a movement of a tracking device to more than a threshold distance away from a mobile device or one or more additional tracking devices, a location of a tracking device relative to a particular or pre-defined geographic location, a location of a tracking device relative to particular or pre-defined geographic boundaries, a usage or movement behavior of the tracking device, a usage or movement behavior of a user or owner of a tracking device, information received from an external source, information received from sensors within the tracking device or a user's mobile device, based on a current time or date, or based on any other suitable factors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example tracking system environment in which a tracking device can operate, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example tracking system for use in a tracking system environment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example user mobile device for use in a tracking system environment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example community mobile device for use in a tracking system environment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example tracking device for use in a tracking system environment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart for a method of identifying a tracking device as potentially lost based on a threshold distance from a target device, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart for a method of identifying a tracking device as potentially lost based on a threshold distance from a geographic location, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart for a method of identifying a tracking device as potentially lost based on historical movement behavior, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart for a method of identifying a tracking device as potentially useful to user based on external data, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart for a method of identifying a tracking device as potentially lost based on sensor data, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart for a method of generating an opt-in notification for identifying a tracking device as potentially lost, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 12A illustrates an example environment including a vehicle tracking device and mobile device connected to the vehicle tracking device.

FIG. 12B illustrates an example environment for geofencing a vehicle tracking device.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart for a method for establishing a geofence around a vehicle tracking device, according to one embodiment.

The figures depict various embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Environment Overview

Embodiments described herein detail functionality associated with a tracking device. A user can attach a tracking device to or enclose the tracking device within an object, such as a wallet, keys, a car, a bike, a pet, or any other object that the user wants to track. The user can then use a mobile device (e.g., by way of a software application installed on the mobile device) or other device or service to track the tracking device and corresponding object. For example, the mobile device can perform a local search for a tracking device attached to a near-by object. However, in situations where the user is unable to locate the tracking device using their own mobile device (e.g., if the tracking device is beyond a distance within which the mobile device and the tracking device can communicate), the user can leverage the capabilities of a community of users of a tracking device system.

In particular, a tracking system (also referred to herein as a “cloud server” or simply “server”) can maintain user profiles associated with a plurality of users of the tracking device system. The tracking system can associate each user within the system with one or more tracking devices associated the user (e.g., tracking devices that the user has purchased and is using to track objects owned by the user). If the user's object becomes lost or stolen, the user can send an indication that the tracking device is lost to the tracking system, which is in communication with one or more mobile devices associated with the community of users in communication with the system. The tracking system can set a flag indicating the tracking device is lost. When one of a community of mobile devices that are scanning for nearby tracking devices and providing updated locations to the tracking system identifies a flagged tracking device, the tracking system can associate the received location with the flagged tracking device, and relay the location to a user of the tracking device, thereby enabling the user to locate the lost tracking device.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example tracking system environment in which a tracking device can operate, according to one embodiment. The environment of FIG. 1 includes a tracking system 100 communicatively coupled to a mobile device 102 associated with the user 103 via a first network 108. The tracking system 100 is also communicatively coupled to a plurality of community mobile devices 104 a through 104 n (collectively referred to herein as “community mobile devices 104”) associated with a plurality of users 105 a through 105 n of the tracking system 100 (collectively referred to herein as “community users 105”) via the first network 108. As will be explained in more detail below, the tracking system 100 can allow the user 103 to manage and/or locate a tracking device 106 associated with the user 103. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 leverages the capabilities of community mobile devices 104 to locate the tracking device 106 if the location of the tracking device is unknown to the user 103 and beyond the capabilities of mobile device 102 to track. In some configurations, the user 103 may own and register multiple tracking devices 106. Although FIG. 1 illustrates a particular arrangement of the tracking system 100, mobile device 102, community mobile devices 104, and tracking device 106, various additional arrangements are possible. FIG. 1 also illustrates an external data source 112 that is communicatively coupled to the tracking system 100 to provide additional, external data to the tracking system 100, as is discussed further below. Examples of external data sources include: social networking systems, messaging systems, calendaring systems, banking systems, budgeting systems, vendor systems, online retailers, parking regulation databases, weather service, travel agency, transportation services, ride-sharing systems, geo-locating systems, contact management systems, and the like.

In some configurations, the user 103 may be part of the community of users 105. Further, one or more users 105 may own and register one or more tracking devices 106. Thus, any one of the users within the community of users 105 can communicate with tracking system 100 and leverage the capabilities of the community of users 105 in addition to the user 103 to locate a tracking device 106 that has been lost.

The tracking system 100, mobile device 102, and plurality of community mobile devices 104 may communicate using any communication platforms and technologies suitable for transporting data and/or communication signals, including known communication technologies, devices, media, and protocols supportive of remote data communications.

In certain embodiments, the tracking system 100, mobile device 102, and community mobile devices 104 may communicate via a network 108, which may include one or more networks, including, but not limited to, wireless networks (e.g., wireless communication networks), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular telephone networks), closed communication networks, open communication networks, satellite networks, navigation networks, broadband networks, narrowband networks, the Internet, local area networks, and any other networks capable of carrying data and/or communications signals between the tracking system 100, mobile device 102, and community mobile devices 104. The mobile device 102 and community of mobile devices 104 may also be in communication with a tracking device 106 via a second network 110. The second network 110 may be a similar or different type of network as the first network 108. In some embodiments, the second network 110 comprises a wireless network with a limited communication range, such as a Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless network. In some configurations, the second network 110 is a point-to-point network including the tracking device 106 and one or more mobile devices that fall within a proximity of the tracking device 106. In such embodiments, the mobile device 102 and community mobile devices 104 may only be able to communicate with the tracking device 106 if they are within a close proximity to the tracking device, though in other embodiments, the tracking device can use long-distance communication functionality (for instance, a GSM transceiver) to communicate with either a mobile device 102/104 or the tracking system 100 at any distance. In some configurations, the mobile device 102 and one or more community mobile devices 104 may each be associated with multiple tracking devices associated with various users.

As mentioned above, FIG. 1 illustrates the mobile device 102 associated with the user 103. The mobile device 102 can be configured to perform one or more functions described herein with respect to locating tracking devices (e.g., tracking device 106). For example, the mobile device 102 can receive input from the user 103 representative of information about the user 103 and information about a tracking device 106. The mobile device 102 may then provide the received user information, tracking device information, and/or information about the mobile device 102 to the tracking system 100. Accordingly, the tracking system 100 is able to associate the mobile device 102, the user 103, and/or the tracking device 106 with one another. In some embodiments, the mobile device 102 can communicate with the tracking device 106 and provide information regarding the location of the tracking device to the user 103. For example, the mobile device 102 can detect a communication signal from the tracking device 106 (e.g., by way of second network 110) as well as a strength of the communication signal or other measure of proximity to determine an approximate distance (and/or a relative direction) between the mobile device 102 and the tracking device 106. The mobile device 102 can then provide this information to the user 103 (e.g., by way of one or more graphical user interfaces) to assist the user 103 to locate the tracking device 106. Accordingly, the user 103 can use the mobile device 102 to track and locate the tracking device 106 and a corresponding object associated with the tracking device 106. If the mobile device 102 is located beyond the immediate range of communication with the tracking device 106 (e.g., beyond the second network 110), the mobile device 102 can be configured to send an indication that a tracking device 106 is lost to the tracking system 100, requesting assistance in finding the tracking device. The mobile device 102 can send an indication of a lost device in response to a command from the user 103. For example, once the user 103 has determined that the tracking device 106 is lost, the user can provide user input to the mobile device 102 (e.g., by way of a graphical user interface), requesting that the mobile device 102 send an indication that the tracking device 106 is lost to the tracking system 100. In some examples, the lost indication can include information identifying the user 103 (e.g., name, username, authentication information), information associated with the mobile device 102 (e.g., a mobile phone number), information associated with the tracking device (e.g., a unique tracking device identifier), or a location of the user (e.g., a GPS location of the mobile device 102 at the time the request is sent).

The tracking system 100 can be configured to provide a number of features and services associated with the tracking and management of a plurality of tracking devices and/or users associated with the tracking devices. For example, the tracking system 100 can manage information and/or user profiles associated with user 103 and community users 105. In particular, the tracking system 100 can manage information associated with the tracking device 106 and/or other tracking devices associated with the user 103 and/or the community users 105.

As mentioned above, the tracking system 100 can receive an indication that the tracking device 106 is lost from the mobile device 102. The tracking system 100 can then process the indication in order to help the user 103 find the tracking device 106. For example, the tracking system 100 can leverage the capabilities of the community mobile devices 104 to help find the tracking device 106. In particular, the tracking system 100 may set a flag for a tracking device 106 to indicate that the tracking device 106 lost and monitor communications received from the community mobile devices 104 indicating the location of one or more tracking devices 106 within proximity of the community mobile devices 104. The tracking system 100 can determine whether a specific location is associated with the lost tracking device 106 and provide any location updates associated with the tracking device 106 to the mobile device 102. In one example, the tracking system may receive constant updates of tracking device 106 locations regardless of whether a tracking device 106 is lost and provide a most recent updated location of the tracking device 106 in response to receiving an indication that the tracking device 106 is lost.

In some configurations, the tracking system 100 can send a location request associated with the tracking device 106 to each of the community mobile devices 104. The location request can include any instructions and/or information necessary for the community mobile devices 106 to find the tracking device 102. For example, the location request can include a unique identifier associated with the tracking device 106 that can be used by the community mobile devices 104 to identify the tracking device 106. Accordingly, if one of the community mobile devices 104 detects a communication from the tracking device 106 (e.g., if the community mobile device 104 is within range or moves within range of the communication capabilities of the tracking device 106 and receives a signal from the tracking device 106 including or associated with the unique identifier associated with the tracking device 106), the community mobile device 104 can inform the tracking system 100. Using the information received from the community mobile devices 104, the tracking system 100 can inform the user (e.g., by way of the mobile device 102) of a potential location of the tracking device 106.

As shown in FIG. 1 and as mentioned above, the tracking system 100 can communicate with a plurality of community mobile devices 104 associated with corresponding community users 105. For example, an implementation may include a first community mobile device 104 a associated with a first community user 105 a, a second community mobile device 104 b associated with a second community user 105 b, and additional communication mobile devices associated with additional community users up to an nth community mobile device 104 n associated with an nth community user 105 n. The community mobile devices 104 may also include functionality that enables each community mobile device 104 to identify a tracking device 106 within a proximity of the community mobile device 104. In one example, a first community mobile device 104 a within proximity of a tracking device 106 can communicate with the tracking device 106, identify the tracking device 106 (e.g., using a unique identifier associated with the tracking device 106), and/or detect a location associated with the tracking device 106 (e.g., a location of the first mobile community device 104 a at the time of the communication with the tracking device 106). This information can be used to provide updated locations and/or respond to a location request from the tracking system 100 regarding the tracking device 106. In some embodiments, the steps performed by the first community mobile device 104 a can be hidden from the first community user 105 a. Accordingly, the first community mobile device 104 a can assist in locating the tracking device 106 without bother and without the knowledge of the first community user 105 a.

As mentioned above, the tracking system 100 can assist a user 103 in locating a tracking device 106. The tracking device may be a chip, tile, tag, or other device for housing circuitry and that may be attached to or enclosed within an object such as a wallet, keys, purse, car, or other object that the user 103 may track. Additionally, the tracking device 106 may include a speaker for emitting a sound and/or a transmitter for broadcasting a beacon. In one configuration, the tracking device 106 may periodically transmit a beacon signal that may be detected using a nearby mobile device 102 and/or community mobile device 104. In some configurations, the tracking device 106 broadcasts a beacon at regular intervals (e.g., one second intervals) that may be detected from a nearby mobile device (e.g., community mobile device 104). The strength of the signal emitted from the tracking device 106 may be used to determine a degree of proximity to the mobile device 102 or community mobile device 104 that detects the signal. For example, a higher strength signal would indicate a close proximity between the tracking device 106 and the mobile device 102 and a lower strength signal would indicate a more remote proximity between the tracking device 106 and the mobile device 102, though in some embodiments, the tracking device 106 can intentionally vary the transmission strength of the beacon signal. In some cases, the strength of signal or absence of a signal may be used to indicate that a tracking device 106 is lost.

System Overview

FIG. 2 illustrates an example tracking system for use in a tracking system environment, according to one embodiment. As shown, the tracking system 100 may include, but is not limited to, an association manager 204, a tracking device location manager 206, a tracking device intervention manager 207, and a data manager 208, each of which may be in communication with one another using any suitable communication technologies. It will be recognized that although managers 204-208 are shown to be separate in FIG. 2, any of the managers 204-208 may be combined into fewer managers, such as into a single manager, or divided into more managers as may serve a particular embodiment.

The association manager 204 may be configured to receive, transmit, obtain, and/or update information about a user 103 and/or information about one or more specific tracking devices (e.g., tracking device 106). In some configurations, the association manager 204 may associate information associated with a user 103 with information associated with a tracking device 106. For example, user information and tracking information may be obtained by way of a mobile device 102, and the association manager 204 may be used to link the user information and tracking information. The association between user 103 and tracking device 106 may be used for authentication purposes, or for storing user information, tracking device information, permissions, or other information about a user 103 and/or tracking device 106 in a database.

The tracking system 100 also includes a tracking device location manager 206. The tracking device location manager 206 may receive and process an indication that the tracking device 106 is lost from a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 102 or community mobile devices 104). For example, the tracking system 100 may receive a lost indication from a mobile device 102 indicating that the tracking device 106 is lost. The tracking device location manager 206 may set a flag on a database (e.g., tracker database 212) indicating that the tracking device 106 is lost. The tracking device location manager 206 may also query a database to determine tracking information corresponding to the associated user 103 and/or tracking device 106. The tracking system 100 may obtain tracking device information and provide the tracking device information or other information associated with the tracking device 106 to a plurality of community mobile devices 104 to be on alert for the lost or unavailable tracking device 106.

The tracking device location manager 206 may also receive a location from one or more community mobile devices 104 that detect the tracking device 106, for instance in response to the community mobile device receiving a beacon signal transmitted by the tracking device 106, without the tracking device 106 having been previously marked as lost. In such embodiments, a user corresponding to the mobile device 102 can request a most recent location associated with the tracking device from the tracking system 100, and the location manager 206 can provide the location received from the community mobile device for display by the mobile device 102. In some embodiments, the location manager 206 provides the location of the tracking device 106 received from a community mobile device either automatically (for instance if the tracking device 106 is marked as lost) or at the request of a user of the mobile device 102 (for instance, via an application on the mobile device 102). The location manager 206 can provide a location of a tracking device 106 to a mobile device 102 via a text message, push notification, application notification, automated voice message, or any other suitable form of communication.

The tracking device location manager 206 may further manage providing indications about whether a tracking device 106 is lost or no longer lost. For example, as discussed above, the tracking device location manager 206 may provide a location request to the community of mobile devices 104 indicating that a tracking device 106 is lost. Additionally, upon location of the tracking device 106 by the user 103 or by one of the community of users 105, the tracking device location manager 206 may provide an indication to the user 103, community user 105, or tracking system 100 that the tracking device 106 has been found, thus removing any flags associated with a tracking device and/or canceling any location request previously provided to the community of users 105. For example, where a user 103 sends an indication that the tracking device 106 is lost to the tracking system 100 and later finds the tracking device 106, the mobile device 102 may provide an indication to the tracking system 100 that the tracking device 106 has been found. In response, the tracking device location manager 206 may remove a flag indicating that the tracking device 106 is lost and/or provide an updated indication to the community of users 105 that the tracking device 106 has been found, thus canceling any instructions associated with the previously provided location request. In some configurations, the notification that the tracking device 106 has been found may be provided automatically upon the mobile device 102 detecting the tracking device 106 within a proximity of the mobile device 102. Alternatively, the notification that the tracking device 106 has been found may be provided by the user 103 via user input on the mobile device 102. In another example, a known user (e.g., a friend or family member) with whom the tracking device 106 has been shared may provide an indication that the tracking device 106 has been found.

The tracking system 100 additionally includes a tracking device intervention manager 207. The tracking device intervention manager 207 can identify whether a tracking device is lost or has been left behind, or can predict a state of the tracking device based on, for instance, the location of a tracking device relative to other tracking devices, the location of a tracking device relative to a user's phone, and the location of a tracking device relative to historical user data. When a device is determined to be lost or left behind, or when a state of the tracking device has been predicted, the tracking device intervention manager 207 can notify a user, for instance via a notification sent to and displayed by a mobile device 102 of the user. The tracking device intervention manager 207 is described below in greater detail.

The tracking system 100 additionally includes a data manager 208. The data manager 208 may store and manage information associated with users, mobile devices, tracking devices, permissions, location requests, and other data that may be stored and/or maintained in a database related to performing location services of tracking devices. As shown, the data manager 208 may include, but is not limited to, a user database 210, a tracker database 212, permissions data 214, and location request data 216. It will be recognized that although databases and data within the data manager 208 are shown to be separate in FIG. 2, any of the user database 210, tracker database 212, permissions data 214, and location request data 216 may be combined in a single database or manager, or divided into more databases or managers as may serve a particular embodiment.

The data manager 208 may include the user database 210. The user database 210 may be used to store data related to various users. For example, the user database 210 may include data about the user 103 as well as data about each user 105 in a community of users 105. The community of users 105 may include any user that has provided user information to the tracking system 100 via a mobile device 102, 104 or other electronic device. The user information may be associated with one or more respective tracking devices 106, or may be stored without an association to a particular tracking device. For example, a community user 105 may provide user information and permit performance of tracking functions on the community mobile device 104 without owning or being associated with a tracking device 106. The user database 210 may also include information about one or more mobile devices or other electronic devices associated with a particular user.

The data manager 208 may also include a tracker database 212. The tracker database 212 may be used to store data related to tracking devices. For example, the tracker database 212 may include tracking data for any tracking device 106 that has been registered with the tracking system 100. Tracking data may include unique tracker identifications (IDs) associated with individual tracking devices 106. Tracker IDs may be associated with a respective user 103. Tracker IDs may also be associated with multiple users. Additionally, the tracker database 212 may include any flags or other indications associated with whether a specific tracking device 106 has been indicated as lost and whether any incoming communications with regard to that tracking device 106 should be processed based on the presence of a flag associated with the tracking device 106.

The data manager 208 may further include permissions data 214 and location request data 216. Permissions data 214 may include levels of permissions associated with a particular user 103 and/or tracking device 106. For example, permissions data 214 may include additional users that have been indicated as sharing a tracking device 106, or who have been given permission to locate or receive a location of a tracking device 106. Location request data 216 may include information related to a location request or a lost indication received from the user 103 via a mobile device 102.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example user mobile device for use in a tracking system environment, according to one embodiment. As shown, the mobile device 102 may include, but is not limited to, a user interface manager 302, a location request manager 304, a database manager 306, a tracking manager 308, and an intervention engine 340, each of which may be in communication with one another using any suitable communication technologies. It will be recognized that although managers 302-308 are shown to be separate in FIG. 3, any of the managers 302-308 may be combined into fewer managers, such as into a single manager, or divided into more managers as may serve a particular embodiment.

As will be explained in more detail below, the mobile device 102 includes the user interface manager 302. The user interface manager 302 may facilitate providing the user 103 access to data on a tracking system 100 and/or providing data to the tracking system 100. Further, the user interface manager 302 provides a user interface by which the user 103 may communicate with tracking system 100 and/or tracking device 106 via mobile device 102. For example, the user interface manager 302 can facilitate the providing of power settings to the tracking device 106 for power management on the tracking device 106 by the user 103.

The mobile device 102 may also include a location request manager 304. The location request manager 304 may receive and process a request input to the mobile device 102 to send an indication that a tracking device 106 is lost to a tracking system 100. For example, the user 103 may provide an indication that a tracking device 106 is lost, unreachable, or otherwise unavailable from the mobile device 102 via the user interface manager 302, and the location request manager 304 may process the lost indication and provide any necessary data to the tracking system 100 for processing and relaying a location request to other users 105 over a network 108. In some configurations, an indication that a tracking device 106 is lost is provided via user input. Alternatively, the indication may be transmitted automatically in response to the mobile device 102 determining that a tracking device 106 is lost.

In addition, the location request manager 304 can request a location of the tracking device 106 without the tracking device 106 being identified as lost. For instance, a user can access a tracking device location feature of an application running on the mobile device 102 (for example, via the user interface manager 302), and the location request manager 304 can request a most recent location of the tracking device 106 from the tracking system 100. The location request manager 304 can receive the most recent location from the tracking system 100, and can display the most recent location via the user interface manager 302.

The mobile device 102 may also include a database manager 306. The database manager 306 may maintain data related to the user 103, tracking device 106, permissions, or other data that may be used for locating a tracking device 106 and/or providing a request to a tracking system 100 for locating one or more tracking devices 106 associated with the user 103. Further, the database manager 306 may maintain any information that may be accessed using any other manager on the mobile device 102.

The mobile device 102 may further include a tracking manager 308. The tracking manager 308 may include a tracking application (e.g., a software application) for communicating with and locating a tracking device 106 associated with the user 103. For example, the tracking manager 308 may be one configuration of a tracking application installed on the mobile device 102 that provides the functionality for locating a tracking device 106 and/or requesting location of a tracking device 106 using a tracking system 100 and/or a plurality of community mobile devices 104. As shown, the tracking manager 308 may include, but is not limited to, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) manager 310, a persistence manager 312, a local files manager 314, a motion manager 316, a secure storage manager 318, a settings manager 320, a location manager 322, a network manager 324, a notification manager 326, a sound manager 328, a friends manager 330, a photo manager 332, an authentication manager 334, and a device manager 336. Thus, the tracking manager 308 may perform any of the functions associated with managers 310-338, described in additional detail below.

The BLE manager 310 may be used to manage communication with one or more tracking devices 106. The persistence manager 312 may be used to store logical schema information that is relevant to the tracking manager 308. The local files manager 314 may be responsible for managing all files that are input or output from the mobile device 102. The motion manager 316 may be responsible for all motion management required by the tracking manager 308. The secure storage manager 318 may be responsible for storage of secure data, including information such as passwords and private data that would be accessed through this sub-system. The settings manager 320 may be responsible for managing settings used by the tracking manager 308. Such settings may be user controlled (e.g., user settings) or defined by the tracking manager 308 for internal use (e.g., application settings) by a mobile device 102 and/or the tracking system 100. The location manager 322 may be responsible for all location tracking done by the tracking manager 308. For example, the location manager 322 may manage access to the location services of the mobile device 102 and works in conjunction with other managers to persist data. The network manager 324 may be responsible for all Internet communications from the tracking manager 308. For example, the network manager 324 may mediate all Internet API calls for the tracking manager 308. The notification manager 326 may be responsible for managing local and push notifications required by the tracking manager 308. The sound manager 328 may be responsible for playback of audio cues by the tracking manager 308. The friends manager 330 may be responsible for managing access to contacts and the user's social graph. The photo manager 332 may be responsible for capturing and managing photos used by the tracking manager 308. The authentication manager 334 may be responsible for handling the authentication (e.g., sign in or login) of users. The authentication manager 334 may also include registration (e.g., sign up) functionality. The authentication manager 334 further coordinates with other managers to achieve registration functionality. The device manager 336 may be responsible for managing the devices discovered by the tracking manager 308. The device manager 336 may further store and/or maintain the logic for algorithms related to device discovery and update.

The mobile device 102 may further include an intervention engine 340. The intervention engine 340 is configured to, in response to a determination that a tracking device may be lost (or inadvertently left behind, misplaced, forgotten, stolen, etc.), notify a user that the tracking device may be lost or left behind. In some embodiments, the determination that the tracking device may be lost or left behind may be made by the tracking system 100 and communicated to the mobile device 102, may be made by a different tracking device and communicated to the mobile device, or may be made by the intervention engine 340. Likewise, the intervention engine 340 is configured to, in response to predicting a state of the tracking device, notify a user of the tracking device of the predicted state of the tracking device. The state of the tracking device can be predicted by the tracking system 100 and communicated to the mobile device 102, or may be made by the intervention engine 340. The intervention engine 340 can notify a user of the mobile device 102 that a tracking device may be lost or left behind, or can notify the user of the predicted state of the tracking device in a number of ways, for instance by displaying a notification within a graphical notification interface of the mobile device, by displaying a status or notification within an application interface of the mobile device, by emitting an alarm or notification audio, or the like.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example community mobile device for use in a tracking system environment, according to one embodiment. As shown, the community mobile device 104 may include, but is not limited to, a user interface manager 402, a tracking device manager 404, a database manager 406, and a tracking manager 408, each of which may be in communication with one another using any suitable communication technologies. The user interface manager 402, database manager 406, and tracking manager 408 illustrated in FIG. 4 may include similar features and functionality as the user interface manager 302, database manager 306, and tracking manager 308 described above in connection with FIG. 3. It will be recognized that although managers 402-408 are shown to be separate in FIG. 4, any of the managers 402-408 may be combined into fewer managers, such as into a single manager, or divided into more managers as may serve a particular embodiment.

The community mobile device 104 may include a tracking device manager 404. The tracking device manager 404 may facilitate scanning for nearby tracking devices 106. In some configurations, the tracking device manager 404 can continuously or periodically scan (e.g., once per second) for nearby tracking devices 106. The tracking device manager 404 may determine whether to provide an updated location of the nearby tracking device 106 to the tracking system 100. In some configurations, the tracking device manager 404 provides a location of a nearby tracking device 106 automatically. Alternatively, the tracking device manager 404 may determine whether the location of the tracking device 106 has been recently updated, and may determine whether to provide an updated location based on the last time a location of the tracking device 106 has been updated (e.g., by the community mobile device 104). For example, where the community mobile device 104 has provided a recent update of the location of a tracking device 106, the tracking device manager 404 may decide to wait a predetermined period of time (e.g., 5 minutes) before providing an updated location of the same tracking device 106.

In one configuration, the tracking device manager 404 may receive and process a location request or other information relayed to the community mobile device 104 by the tracking system 100. For example, the tracking device manager 404 may receive an indication of a tracking device 106 that has been indicated as lost, and provide a location of the tracking device 106 if it comes within proximity of the community mobile device 104. In some configurations, the community mobile device 104 is constantly scanning nearby areas to determine if there is a tracking device 106 within a proximity of the community mobile device 104. Therefore, where a tracking device 106 that matches information provided by the tracking system 100 (e.g., from the location request) comes within proximity of the community mobile device 104, the tracking device manager 404 may generate and transmit a response to the location request to the tracking system 100, which may be provided to the user 103 associated with the tracking device 106. Further, generating and transmitting the response to the tracking request may be conditioned on the status of the tracking device 106 being flagged as lost by the mobile device 102 and/or the tracking system 100.

The tracking device manager 404 may additionally provide other information to the tracking system 100 in response to receiving the tracking request. For example, in addition to providing a location of the community mobile device 104, the tracking device manager may provide a signal strength associated with the location to indicate a level of proximity to the location of the community mobile device 104 provided to the user 103. For example, if a signal strength is high, the location provided to the user 103 is likely to be more accurate than a location accompanied by a low signal strength. This may provide additional information that the user 103 may find useful in determining the precise location of tracking device 106.

As described above, the tracking device manager 404 may determine whether to send a location within the proximity of the tracking device 106 to the tracking system 100. The determination of whether to send a location to the tracking system 100 may be based on a variety of factors. For example, a tracking device manager 404 may determine to send a location of the tracking device 106 to a tracking system 100 based on whether the detected tracking device 106 has been indicated as lost or if a tracking request has been provided to the community mobile device 104 for the particular tracking device 106. In some configurations, the community mobile device 104 may send an update of a location of a tracking device 106 even if the tracking device 106 is not associated with a current tracking request or if the tracking device 106 is not indicated as lost. For example, where the location of a tracking device 106 has not been updated for a predetermined period of time, the community mobile device 104 may provide an update of a tracking device location to the tracking system 100, regardless of whether a tracking request has been received.

In some configurations, the community mobile device 104 may include additional features. For example, the community mobile device 104 may allow a tracking system 100 to snap and download a photo using photo functionality of the community mobile device 104. In some configurations, this may be an opt-in feature by which a community user 105 permits a tracking system 100 to take a snap-shot and possibly provide a visual image of an area within a proximity of the tracking device 106.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example tracking device for use in a tracking system environment, according to one embodiment. The tracking device 106 of FIG. 5 includes an interface 502, a transceiver 504, a controller 506, and one or more sensors 508. The transceiver 504 is a hardware circuit capable of both transmitting and receiving signals. It should be noted that in other embodiments, the tracking device 106 includes fewer, additional, or different components than those illustrated in FIG. 5.

The interface 502 provides a communicative interface between the tracking device 106 and one or more other devices, such as a mobile device 102. For instance, the interface 502 can instruct the transceiver 504 to output beacon signals as described above (for example, periodically or in response to a triggering event, such as a detected movement of the tracking device 106). The interface 502 can, in response to the receiving of signals by the transceiver 504 from, for instance, the mobile device 102, manage a pairing protocol to establish a communicative connection between the tracking device 106 and the mobile device 102. As noted above, the transceiver 504 can include a BLE receiver and transmitter, though in other embodiments, the transceiver 504 enables communications via other suitable wireless connection protocols (such as WiFi, Global System for Mobile Communications or “GSM”, LTE, and the like). It should be noted that while various examples herein describe the transceiver 504 as a GSM receiver and transmitter, this is done for the purposes of brevity, and it should be emphasized that the transceiver 504 can communicate over any other wireless communication protocol according to the embodiments described herein.

The controller 506 is a hardware chip that configures the tracking device 106 to perform one or more functions or to operate in one or operating modes or states. For instance, the controller 506 can configure the interval at which the transceiver broadcasts beacon signals, can authorize or prevent particular devices from pairing with the tracking device 106 based on information received from the devices and permissions stored at the tracking device, can increase or decrease the transmission strength of signals broadcasted by the transceiver, can configure the interface to emit a ringtone or flash an LED light, can enable or disable various tracking device sensors, can enable or disable communicative functionality of the tracking device 106, can configure the tracking device into a sleep mode or awake mode, can configure the tracking device into a power preservation mode, and the like. The controller 506 can configure the tracking device to perform functions or to operate in a particular operating mode based on information or signals received from a device paired with or attempting to pair with the tracking device 106, based on an operating state or connection state of the tracking device 106, based on user-selected settings, based on information stored at the tracking device 106, based on a detected location of the tracking device 106, based on historical behavior of the tracking device 106 (such as a previous length of time the tracking device was configured to operate in a particular mode), based on information received from the sensors 508, or based on any other suitable criteria.

The sensors 508 can include motion sensors (such as gyroscopes or accelerators), altimeters, GPS transceivers, orientation sensors, proximity sensors, communication sensors, light sensors, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, touch sensors, audio sensors, or any other suitable sensor configured to detect an environment of the tracking device 106, a state of the tracking device 106, a movement or location of the tracking device 106, and the like. The sensors 508 are configured to provide information detected by the sensors to the controller 506, which in turn can provide the information detected by the sensors to a mobile device 102 communicatively coupled to the tracking device 106.

Tracking Device Collection Overview

Tracking devices can be organized into collections of tracking devices that are commonly co-located, that may move similarly, that are often kept close together, that are used similarly or for a common purpose, that are attached to related or similar objects, that are associated with a common subject matter, or that behave in a similar way. As used herein, a “collection” refers to a pre-determined set of tracking devices. Collections of tracking devices can include one, two, or more tracking devices, and the identities of each collection and the identities of the tracking devices within each collection can be stored within the tracker database 212, within a mobile device 102 of a user associated with the collection, or any other suitable location.

Tracking device collections can be defined by users. For instance, a user can create a collection via an application interface or other mobile device interface, via a web page interface associated with the tracking system 100, or the like. The user can select a set of tracking devices owned or managed by the user, can associate with the selected tracking devices, and can name or otherwise identify the collection. For instance, the user can select tracking devices that are attached to objects needed by the user for the user's job, can create a collection of “work” tracking devices, and can name the collection, all via an application running on the user's mobile device 102. The mobile device 102 can then communicate the defined collection to the tracking system 100 for storage.

Alternatively, tracking device collections can be defined by the tracking system 100, based on common historical behavior/usage patterns associated with a set of tracking devices. For instance, if a set of tracking devices (e.g., a first tracking device coupled to a user's wallet, a second to a user's ID badge, and a third to a user's briefcase) commonly accompanies a user from a home location to a work location weekday mornings, and likewise from the work location to the home location weekday evenings, the set of tracking devices can be grouped together in a tracking device collection. As described above, tracking devices are coupled to objects, and the user can identify to the tracking system 100 (for instance, via the mobile device 102) the identity of the objects to which the tracking devices are attached. Accordingly, the tracking system 100 can define collections of tracking devices based on the identified types of objects to which a set of tracking devices are coupled. For example, if a user identifies an object to which a first tracking device is coupled as “luggage”, and identifies an object to which a second tracking device is coupled as “passport”, the tracking system 100 can define a “travel” tracking device collection based on a pre-determined likelihood that a user's luggage and passport are likely to be used together.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can identify a candidate tracking device collection (e.g., by identifying a set of tracking devices), and can present or suggest the candidate tracking device collection to a user (for instance, via the user's mobile device 102). For example, the travel system 100 can identify a set of tracking devices that commonly move in conjunction with a user's car, and can suggest a candidate “car” tracking device collection to the user. If the user agrees to define a tracking device collection based on the presented candidate tracking device collection, the tracking system 100 can store the tracking device collection.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can identify a candidate tracking device likely to be related to a defined tracking device collection, and can present or suggest the candidate tracking device to the user to add to the tracking device collection. For example, if a user has defined a “travel” collection of tracking devices including a passport tracking device and luggage tracking device, and the tracking system 100 determines that a tracking device coupled to a camera bag is commonly co-located with the passport and luggage (or moves in conjunction with the passport and luggage), then the tracking system can suggest to the user (for instance, via the user's mobile device 102) that the user add the camera bag to the travel tracking device collection. If the user accepts the suggestion and adds the suggested tracking device to the tracking device collection, the tracking system 100 can update the stored tracking device collection to include the suggested tracking device.

In some embodiments, an interface of the user's mobile device (such as an application interface, a web page interface, and the like) can display one or more tracking device collections to the user. For instance, the mobile device can display a selectable icon, button, or display portion corresponding to the tracking device collection. When a user selects the tracking device collection, the mobile device can identify tracking devices within the selected tracking device collection, and can display information associated with the identified tracking devices within the collection (such as location information, status information, information about the object to which the tracking device is coupled, and the like). For instance, the user can select a “work” tracking device collection from an interface of the application associated with the tracking system 100, and the application can display information associated with a first tracking device coupled to a user's keys, a second tracking device coupled to the user's ID badge, and a third tracking device coupled to the user's briefcase.

Examples of tracking device collections include but are not limited to:

-   -   Car accessory tracking devices: a wallet, glasses, spare tire,         garage door remote control, parking pass, toll road/bridge         payment sensor, keys, phone charger, jumper cables, car jack,         auxiliary cable     -   Travel tracking devices: luggage, phone charger, laptop charger,         makeup/toiletry bag, passport, digital book/reader, computer,         tablet, phone, camera, headphones, airpods, water bottle,         jacket, pillow     -   Purse tracking devices: purse, wallet, checkbook, keys, pillbox     -   Work tracking devices: laptop, tablet, phone, ID badge,         headphones, wallet, briefcase     -   School tracking devices: backpack, lunch bag, laptop, books     -   Home tracking devices: remote control, safe, jewelry box, tools,         toolbox, artwork     -   Camping tracking devices: tent, sleeping bags, headlamp,         flashlight, lanterns, first aid kit     -   Skiing/snowboarding tracking devices: skis, snowboard, coat,         gloves, helmet, goggles, ski pass     -   Golf tracking devices: clubs, bag, shoes, hat     -   SCUBA tracking devices: fins, mask, tank, wetsuit, flashlight,         weight belt, buoyancy compensator     -   Art/antique tracking devices: tracking devices coupled to         artwork or antiques     -   Photography tracking devices: camera bag, camera, lenses,         tripods, flash gear     -   Public tracking devices: tracking devices coupled to buses, food         trucks, and the like     -   Computer/laptop accessories tracking devices: laptop, tablet,         charger, dongle, mouse, keyboard, monitors, external hard drive,         web camera     -   Tool tracking devices: hammer, screwdriver, wrench, saw, safety         glasses, tool box     -   Emergency supplies tracking devices: fire extinguisher, water         containers, canned foods, flashlights, emergency radio     -   Baby/child tracking devices: baby bag, diapers, toys, baby         powder, baby wipes, books, car seat, stroller, clothes     -   Gym tracking devices: gym shoes, gym bag, extra clothes, towel,         joint brace/support     -   Beach tracking devices: towel, sunscreen, beach umbrella, water         bottle, surfboard, cooler     -   Rain-gear tracking devices: jacket, hat, poncho, umbrella, rain         boots     -   Snow-gear tracking devices: jacket, hat, ear muffs, scarf     -   Warm-weather tracking devices: sunscreen, sunglasses, sandals,         water bottle     -   Valuable item tracking devices: Art, antique, television,         jewelry/jewelry box, safe, monitor, computer         Tracking Device Intervention Overview

As used herein, a tracking device “intervention” can refer to notifying a user, owner, or manager of a tracking device that the tracking device may be lost, may be forgotten, or may be inadvertently left behind (collectively referred to as “potentially lost” hereinafter). In some embodiments, a tracking device intervention can refer to notifying a user of a predicted state or behavior of a tracking device (collectively referred to as “predicted state” hereinafter). In each case, a tracking device is either identified as potentially lost or a state of the tracking device is predicted, and in response, a notification is sent to a user of the tracking device.

During the performance of a tracking device intervention, a user can be notified of the predicted state of the tracking device or that the tracking device is potentially lost via a mobile device 102, for instance via a notification displayed within a mobile device or application interface, via an audio signal or vibration signal, and the like. As also noted above, any of the tracking system 100, the mobile device 102, or a tracking device 106 can identify a tracking device is potentially lost or can predict a state of the tracking device, though the remainder of the description will refer to the tracking system identifying a tracking device as potentially lost for the purposes of simplicity.

A notification that a tracking device is potentially lost can include information about a last known location of the tracking device (for instance, displayed on a map displayed by a mobile device), can include information identifying the tracking device (such as a name of the tracking device, the identity of the object to which the tracking device is attached, or an icon corresponding to the tracking device), can include information identifying a tracking device collection to which the tracking device belongs (such as a name of the tracking device collection or an icon corresponding to the tracking device collection), and can include text indicating why the tracking device is thought to be lost or left behind (e.g., “you normally take your briefcase to work with you, and you left it behind today”). A notification of a predicted state of the tracking device can include information identifying the tracking device or a tracking device collection to which the tracking device belongs, can include information describing the predicted state of the tracking device (e.g., “you might want to bring this tracking device with you before you leave for work”), and can include information describing the circumstances under which the state of the tracking device is predicted (e.g., “it is warmer than normal outside today, don't forget to bring your water bottle”).

In some embodiments, a notification of a predicted state of the tracking device or identifying a tracking device as potentially lost can include an option to disregard the notification. For instance, if the notification indicates that a tracking device is potentially lost, the user can select an option displayed by or associated with the notification to identify the tracking device as not lost. Likewise, if the notification indicates a predicted state of the tracking device reminding a user to bring an object coupled to a particular tracking device, the user can select an option displayed by or associated with the notification to disregard the reminder. Likewise, in some embodiments, a notification that a tracking device is identified as potentially lost can include an option to confirm the tracking device as lost. In response to the selection of such an option by a user, the tracking system 100 can affirmatively classify the tracking device as lost according to the principles described herein.

The tracking system 100 can identify a tracking device 106 as potentially lost or can predict a future state of the tracking device based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: a proximity of a tracking device to one or more additional tracking devices, a proximity of a tracking device to a user's mobile device, a movement of a tracking device to more than a threshold distance away from a mobile device or one or more additional tracking devices, a location of a tracking device relative to a particular or pre-defined geographic location (such as GPS coordinates, a user's home, a user's place of employment, etc.), a location of a tracking device relative to particular or pre-defined geographic boundaries (such as boundaries within a map, property lines, and the like), based on a usage or movement behavior of the tracking device, based on a usage or movement behavior of a user or owner of a tracking device, based on information received from an external source (for instance, via an API corresponding to the API), based on information received from sensors within the tracking device or a user's mobile device (such as motion sensors), based on a current time or date, based on a low battery level, based on a malfunction of the tracking device or a tracking device component, or based on any other suitable factors. Circumstances in which the tracking system 100 can identify a tracking device 106 as potentially lost or can predict a state of the tracking device are described in greater detail below.

Tracking Device Proximity:

The tracking system 100 can identify a tracking device 106 as potentially lost in response to determining that the tracking device is not located within a threshold distance (such as a wireless communicative range, a selected threshold distance, or a pre-determined distance) of a target device (such as a user's mobile device or of one or more additional tracking devices). For instance, if a tracking device is commonly located within a threshold distance of a user's mobile device, the tracking system 100 can flag the tracking device as potentially lost in response to a determination that the tracking device is located outside the threshold distance of the user's mobile device. In addition, if a tracking device is commonly located within a threshold distance of a second tracking device, the tracking system can flag the tracking device as potentially lost in response to a determination that the tracking device is located more than a threshold distance away from the second tracking device. Likewise, if a tracking device is part of a tracking device collection, the tracking system 100 can flag the tracking device as potentially lost in response to a determination that the tracking device is located more than a threshold distance away from one or more additional tracking devices within the tracking device collection.

It should be noted that the determination that a tracking device is potentially lost in response to proximity to another tracking device, a tracking device collection, or a user's mobile device can be based on time. For instance, if two tracking devices are commonly located within a threshold distance of each other during normal work hours for a user, but aren't commonly located within the threshold distance of each other outside of work hours, the tracking system 100 may flag a first of the tracking devices as potentially lost only if the first tracking device is located more than the threshold distance from the second tracking device during work hours, and may not flag the first tracking device as potentially lost if the first tracking device is located more than the threshold distance from the second tracking device outside of work hours.

The tracking system 100 can determine that a tracking device 106 is not within a threshold proximity of a mobile device 102 by determining that the tracking device is outside of the transmission or communicative range of the mobile device. For instance, if the mobile device and the tracking device are configured to communicatively couple via the Bluetooth protocol, the tracking system 100 can determine that the tracking device 106 is outside of a threshold proximity of the mobile device 102 if the mobile device is unable to receive Bluetooth advertisements or communications from the tracking device. The tracking system 100 can determine that a first tracking device is not within a threshold proximity of one or more additional tracking devices by determining that the one or more additional tracking devices are within the transmission or communicative range of one or more mobile devices, and that the first tracking device is not within the transmission or communicative range of the one or more mobile devices. Likewise, the tracking system 100 can determine that a tracking device 106 is not within a threshold proximity of a mobile device 102 or one or more additional tracking devices by determining a location of the tracking device (e.g., from a community mobile device 104 different than the mobile device 102, from a database storing a last known location of the tracking device, or from any other suitable source), and determining that the determined location of the tracking device is greater than a threshold distance away from the mobile device 102 or the one or more additional tracking devices.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can flag a tracking device 106 as potentially lost in response to the movement of the tracking device from within a threshold distance of a mobile device 102 to greater than a threshold distance of the mobile device. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can flag a tracking device 106 as potentially lost in response to the severing of a communicative connection between the tracking device and a mobile device 102 (for instance, as a result of the movement of the tracking device and the mobile device away from each other). In some embodiments, a user can select the threshold distance used by the tracking system 100 to trigger a determination that the tracking device 106 is potentially lost, for instance via an interface of the mobile device 102.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart for a method of identifying a tracking device as potentially lost based on a threshold distance from a target device, according to one embodiment. Alternate embodiments may contain more, fewer, or different steps, or the steps may be performed in an order different from the one shown in FIG. 6.

The tracking system 100 receives 600 a location of a user's tracking device and receives 610 a location of a target device. In some embodiments, the tracking device location is received from a mobile device of a user different from the user to whom the tracking device belongs. The target device can be another tracking device, a user's mobile device, or any other suitable system. The tracking system 100 determines 620 whether the tracking device location is more than a threshold distance from the target device location. If the tracking device location is determined to be more than the threshold distance from the target device location, the tracking system identifies 630 the tracking device as potentially lost. The tracking system 100 generates 640 a notification identifying the tracking device and indicating that the tracking device is potentially lost, and provides 650 the generated notification to the user's mobile device. The user's mobile device can be configured to display the notification to the user.

Examples:

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies a user that a tracking device is potentially lost if the tracking device is not located with a threshold distance of the user's mobile device and if the tracking device is coupled with an object the user uses regularly. For example, the user may be notified as such if the tracking device is coupled to keys, a wallet, a phone, glasses, a watch, a laptop, a digital book/reader, or a tablet. The threshold distance can be selected by the user or the tracking system 100 such that the tracking device is on the user's person or within the user's immediate vicinity (e.g. ≤5 feet), or may be selected such that the user is reminded to bring the object when the user leaves an area (e.g. approximately 15 feet). In some embodiments, the user designates which tracking devices are coupled to objects the user uses regularly. The user may also designate time periods during which those designated tracking devices should be within a threshold distance of the user's mobile device. For example, the user may designate the user's work hours, workout hours, sleeping hours, dining hours, relaxation hours, traveling hours, class hours, or commuting hours.

In some embodiments, the tracking system may notify a user that a tracking device is potentially lost if a tracking device was located within the threshold distance of the user's mobile device when the user left a geographic location and the tracking device is not located within the threshold distance of the user's mobile device before the user returns to that geographic location. For example, if the tracking device is coupled to a tablet, if the user leaves home with the tablet and the tracking system 100 determines that the tablet tracking device is not within a threshold distance of the user's mobile device before the user returns home, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that the tablet tracking device is potentially lost. The threshold distance may be selected such that if the tracking device is near the user or in the user's car (e.g. 2-5 feet), the tracking device is not identified as potentially lost. Example geographic locations include the user's home, work, school, gym, or car.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user that a tracking device coupled to car accessory may not be in the car based on whether the car accessory tracking device is located within a threshold distance of a tracking device coupled to the car. For example, if a tracking device coupled to the user's parking pass is not located within the threshold distance of a tracking device coupled to a car, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that the parking pass tracking device is not in the car. In such embodiments, the tracking system 100 may only notify the user if the user's mobile device is located within a threshold distance of the car tracking device. For example, the tracking system 100 may notify the user if a phone charger tracking device is not located within a first threshold distance of a car tracking device if the user is located within a second threshold distance of the car tracking device (e.g. if the user is in the car and about to leave).

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 provides notifications to the user's mobile device if the user is traveling and based on whether the travel tracking device is located within a threshold distance of the user's mobile device. For example, if the user is on an airplane, the user may be notified that a travel tracking device (e.g. a luggage tracking device, a laptop tracking device, a phone tracking device) is not on the user's airplane if the travel tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the user's mobile device or a tracking device coupled to the airplane. Additionally, the tracking system 100 may notify the user of a travel tracking device that is potentially lost if the travel tracking device is within a threshold distance of an airplane tracking device and not within a threshold distance of the user's mobile device (e.g. the user left the travel tracking device on the airplane).

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user that the user's luggage was sent to the wrong airport. The tracking system 100 can notify the user of such a state if the user's mobile device is located within a threshold distance of one airplane tracking device, and a luggage tracking device is located within a threshold distance of another airplane tracking device (or a community member's mobile device) that is at a different airport from the airport of the first airplane.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user if the user has potentially lost a tracking device coupled to the user's passport. If a passport tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the user's mobile device or other travel tracking devices (such as a luggage tracking device, a travel bag tracking device, etc.) while the user's mobile device or the travel tracking devices are at a travel hub (e.g. airport, seaport, train station), the user may be notified that the passport tracking device is potentially lost.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user that a tracking device may have been stolen from the user's car if the tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of a car tracking device. For example, if the user leaves a tracking device coupled to a laptop in a car, and the laptop tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the car tracking device, the user may be notified that the laptop tracking device has left the car. The tracking system 100 may only notify the user that a tracking device is potentially stolen if the user's mobile device is not detected within a threshold distance of the car tracking device during the time period in which the potentially stolen tracking device was determined to be outside the threshold distance from the car. For example, a user may have left a laptop tracking device in a car, and as a result, the laptop tracking device may be within a threshold distance of a car tracking device. If the laptop tracking device is determined to be outside the threshold distance from the car tracking device before the user returns to the car (e.g. when the user's mobile device is within a threshold distance of the car tracking device), the user can be notified that the laptop tracking device has been stolen.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user when a tracking device associated with a child is not located within a threshold distance of the user's mobile device. For example, a tracking device may be coupled to the child's phone, jacket, backpack, shoes, or toys. The user may configure the threshold distance of the child tracking device based on where the child is. For example, if the child is at the park, the threshold distance may be larger than if the child is at a theme park. In some embodiments, the user is notified when the child tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of another tracking device, such as a tracking device given to a baby sitter to locate the child tracking device. In these embodiments, if the child tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the other tracking device, the tracking system 100 may notify the user through the user's mobile device that the child tracking device is outside the threshold distance of the user's mobile device or another tracking device.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 will notify the user of a potentially lost tracking device when the user's mobile device is at a particular geographic location/within a geographic boundary and when the tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the user's mobile device. For example, if the user's mobile device is at a store, the tracking system 100 may notify the user of a potentially lost wallet tracking device if the wallet tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the user's mobile device while the user is at the store. The tracking system 100 may flag one or more tracking devices from a particular collection of tracking devices depending on which geographic location or geographic boundary the mobile device is in. For example, if the mobile device is at the airport, the tracking system 100 may notify the user if a travel tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the mobile device or another travel tracking device. If the mobile device is at the gym, the tracking system 100 may notify the user if a gym bag tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the mobile device or another workout tracking device. If the mobile device is at the beach, the tracking system 100 may notify the user if a beach gear tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the mobile device or another beach tracking device. If the mobile device is at work, the tracking system 100 may notify the user if a work tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the mobile device or another work tracking device. If the mobile device is at a campsite, the tracking system 100 may notify the user if a camping tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the mobile device or another camping tracking device.

Geographic Location:

The tracking system 100 can identify a tracking device 106 as potentially lost in response to determining that the tracking device is more than a threshold distance from a selected geographic location (for instance, defined by geographic coordinates), or outside of an area defined by a selected geographic boundary (for instance, boundaries associated with a house or building, boundaries associated with property lines or a property lot, and the like). The geographic location or geographic boundary can be defined or selected by a user, for instance, via an interface of the mobile device 102 or of the tracking system 100. For example, a user can define a set of GPS coordinates as a selected location, or can draw a set of geographic boundaries within a map interface. In some embodiments, a user can select a threshold distance or can change a pre-set threshold distance for use in conjunction with a selected geographic location (such that tracking devices located more than the selected threshold distance are identified as potentially lost).

The geographic location or geographic boundary can also be selected (for instance, by the tracking system 100) based on historical location data associated with the tracking device 106, a user, or a mobile device 102 associated with the user. For instance, if a tracking device 106 is commonly located within a geographic boundary associated with a user's work building during week day working hours, the geographic boundary can be selected by the tracking system 100 for use in determining if the tracking device is potentially lost. Likewise, if a tracking device 106 is commonly located within a threshold distance of a user's home on the weekend, a geographic location corresponding to the user's home (e.g., a set of GPS coordinates over which the user's home is located) can be selected by the tracking system 100 for use in determining if the tracking device is potentially lost. Herein, a geographic location or geographic boundaries associated with a tracking device 106 can be collectively referred to as a “geofence” associated with that tracking device. In some embodiments, a geofence for a tracking device can be selected or established based on the occurrence of a triggering event, for example, a tracking device disconnection event (e.g., the detection of the severance or termination of a communicative connection with the tracking device) detected by the operating system of a mobile device 102. In other embodiments, other events can trigger a mobile device 102 to create a geofence for a connected tracking device 106, for example, a connection event to a tracking device 106, or any other suitable event. In some embodiments, a range for a geofence can be selected based on environmental factors, such as the expected transmission range of the mobile device 102 at the time the geofence associated with the tracking device 106 with established.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can identify a potential geographic location or geographic boundary for use in determining if a tracking device 106 is potentially lost based on historical location data associated with the tracking device, a user, or a mobile device of the user, or based on other suitable information, such as a tracking device disconnection event, and can present the potential geographic location or geographic boundary to the user. For instance, an application associated with the tracking system 100 can display a set of selectable potential geographic locations or geographic boundaries to the user, and can display information associated with the historical location data upon which each potential geographic location or geographic boundary is identified (for instance, the application can display a potential geographic location in conjunction with the text “recommended based on the location of this tracking device during weekdays between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm”). If the user selects the potential geographic location or geographic boundary, the tracking system 100 can store the geographic location or geographic boundary for future use in determining if the tracking device 106 is lost.

The tracking system 100 can determine that a tracking device 106 is not located within a threshold distance of a geographic location or is not located within a geographic boundary if 1) a location of the tracking device is received from a community mobile device 104 and 2) if the received location is more than a threshold distance away from the geographic location or is located outside of the geographic boundary. Alternatively, the tracking system 100 can determine that a tracking device 106 is located more than a threshold distance away from a geographic location or outside of a geographic boundary in response to 1) determining that a mobile device 102 of a user is located within the threshold distance of the geographic location or within the geographic boundary and 2) determining that the tracking device is not located within the communicative or transmission range of the mobile device (for instance, by determining that the mobile device cannot communicatively couple to the tracking device). In such embodiments, the communicative or transmission range of the mobile device 102 can be greater than the range defined by the geographic location and the threshold distance, and greater than the range defined by the geographic boundary.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart for a method of identifying a tracking device as potentially lost based on a threshold distance from a geographic location, according to one embodiment. Alternate embodiments may contain more, fewer, or different steps, or the steps may be performed in an order different from the one shown in FIG. 7.

The tracking system 100 receives 700 a location of a user's tracking device. In some embodiments, the tracking device location is received from a mobile device of a user different from the user to whom the tracking device belongs. The tracking system 100 determines 710 if the tracking device location is more than a threshold distance from a geographic location. As described above, in alternate embodiments, the tracking system determines if the tracking device location is outside of a geographic boundary. If the tracking system 100 determines that the tracking device location is more than the threshold distance from the geographic location (or outside the geographic boundary), the tracking system identifies 720 the tracking device as potentially lost. The tracking system 100 generates 730 a notification identifying the tracking device and indicating that the tracking device is potentially lost, and provides 740 the generated notification to the user's mobile device. The user's mobile device can be configured to display the notification to the user.

Examples:

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user when a tracking device coupled to a set of keys leaves a geographic boundary. For example, if a business provides a set of keys to a temporary employee or a contractor, the tracking system 100 may notify the user when a keys tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of a geographic location or within a geographic boundary associated with an office of the business.

In some embodiments, a tracking device is coupled to a lifting weight or some other piece of exercise equipment and the tracking system 100 notifies the user when the lifting weight tracking device leaves a gym. Each lifting weight or piece of exercise equipment in a gym may be coupled to a tracking device and the notification to the mobile device may include information that identifies which lifting weight was not located within the gym.

In some embodiments, if the mobile device is located near a tourist destination and a tracking device coupled to a camera is located within a threshold distance of the mobile device, the tracking system 100 may notify the user through the mobile device that they may want to take out their camera and take pictures of the tourist destination.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user that the user's car is potentially stolen if the car tracking device coupled to the user's car is located outside of a threshold distance from the geographic location where the user parked the car. The tracking system can determine a geographic location for where the user parked the car based on the geographic location of the car tracking device when the mobile device exceeded a threshold distance away from the car tracking device (e.g., when the user walked more than a threshold distance away from the car). If the car tracking device is located more than a threshold distance from the parking location, the tracking system 100 can notify the user that the car has potentially been stolen.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies a user if a tracking device is not located within a room or a house. For example, if a tracking device is coupled to an object that is not supposed to leave a room (e.g. a remote control, reading glasses), the tracking system 100 may notify the user if the tracking device leaves the room/is not located within the room. The tracking system 100 may also notify the user that a tracking device coupled to a valuable item (such as a safe, a jewelry box, artwork, a television, a computer, etc.) may have been stolen from a house if the tracking device coupled to the valuable item is not located within the house.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user if their child is not at a geographic location at which the child is supposed to be. If a tracking device associated with the child (e.g., a tracking device coupled to the child's bag or jacket) is not located within a threshold distance of a geographic location or within certain geographic boundaries (e.g. home, school, art/performance/music lessons, sport practice, friend's house), the user may be notified that the child is not located where they are supposed to be and may be provided with the location of the child tracking device.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user if a tracking device coupled to a pet is not located within a threshold distance of the user's home or within the geographic boundaries of the user's home. For example, if the user's pet escapes or is stolen, the tracking system 100 can notify the user that the pet tracking device is not located within the user's home and can provide the location of the pet tracking device. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user if the pet tracking device enters a particular part of the user's home. For example, if the pet is not supposed to be inside the house or not supposed to be in a particular room of the house, the tracking system can notify the user that the pet tracking device is not where it is supposed to be based on whether the pet tracking device is or is not located within a threshold distance of a geographic location or whether the pet is or is not located within a geographic boundary.

Tracking Device Behavior:

The tracking system 100 can identify a tracking device 106 as potentially lost in response to a comparison of current tracking device behavior and location and historical tracking device behavior and location. For instance, the tracking system 100 can determine that a tracking device 106 commonly accompanies a user on the user's way to work based on an analysis of historical location data associated with the tracking device, and can flag the tracking device as potentially lost in response to determining that the tracking device is not accompanying the user on the user's way to work. Likewise, the tracking system 100 can determine that the tracking device 106 typically does not move between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm on weekdays based on an analysis of historical movement data associated with the tracking device, and can flag the tracking device as potentially lost in response to a determination that the motion of the tracking device exceeds a pre-determined motion threshold during this time interval. In addition, the tracking system 100 can determine that the tracking device 106 commonly communicatively connects with a mobile device 102 of a user after 10 pm on weekends based on an analysis of historical communication data associated with the tracking device, and can flag the tracking device as potentially lost in response to a determination that the tracking device has not communicatively connected to the mobile device on a weekend day after 10 pm after the passage of a threshold amount of time.

The tracking system 100 can predict a future state of the tracking device 106 based on a comparison of historical data associated with the tracking device. For instance, the tracking system 100 can determine that a tracking device 106 commonly travels between a first location and a second location between the hours of 5 pm and 6 pm, and can predict that the tracking device will be located at the second location after 6 pm in the event that the tracking device is outside the communicative range of a user's mobile device. Continuing with this example, the tracking system 100 can determine that the tracking device 106 commonly takes 30 minutes to reach the second location after leaving the first location, and can predict that the tracking device will reach the second location approximately 30 minutes after detecting that the tracking device has left the first location. Historical data analyzed by the tracking system 100 can include when, where, or how often the tracking device connects with the mobile device. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can analyze historical behavior of other tracking devices for use in predicting a state of the tracking device 106. In such embodiments, historical location and movement patterns of other tracking devices can be used to predict a location and/or movement of the tracking device 106 in response to a determination that the tracking device is undergoing similar location and movement patterns.

Examples:

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 identifies collections of tracking devices, as described above, for instance based on a history of the tracking devices tending to be located near each other or based on a collection definition from a user, and can notify the user that a tracking device of a collection is lost if the tracking device is not located near tracking devices in a collection. For example, the tracking system may determine that a keys tracking device and a wallet tracking device are typically located near each other, and thus may include the keys tracking device and the wallet tracking device in a collection. If the keys tracking device is subsequently not located near the wallet tracking device, the user may be notified that the keys tracking device or the wallet tracking device is potentially lost. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 identifies tracking devices that are typically located near each other and may prompt the user to create a collection of the tracking devices or to add one or more of the tracking devices to an existing collection. For example, if the tracking system 100 determines that a toiletry bag tracking device is typically located near a suitcase tracking device, the tracking system 100 may prompt the user to add the toiletry bag tracking device to a travel tracking device collection.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can notify the user that a car tracking device is potentially stolen based on the behavior of the car tracking device. For example, if the car tracking device is typically parked within a threshold distance of a geographic location during particular hours (e.g. while the user is typically home or asleep), the tracking system 100 may notify the user if the car tracking device is not located within that threshold distance. The tracking system may also determine that a keys tracking device is typically located near the car tracking device when the car tracking device is moving, and may notify the user that the car tracking device is potentially stolen if the car tracking device is moving when not near the keys tracking device.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can notify the user that a car coupled to a tracking device has been in a car accident. The tracking system 100 may determine if the car tracking device stops suddenly or begins to move erratically and may identify that behavior as indicative of a car accident. The tracking system 100 may send a notification to the user about the potential car accident, and the notification may include an option to automatically send emergency assistance (e.g. an EMT, paramedic, fire fighters, the police) to the location of the car tracking device. If the mobile device is not located near the car tracking device, the notification may include the location of the car tracking device. If the mobile device is located near the car tracking device (e.g. within a threshold distance), the tracking system 100 may automatically notify an emergency assistance service (e.g. 911) of the car accident and may transmit the location of the car tracking device or the mobile device to the emergency assistance service.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can notify the user with an estimate for how long it will take for the user's luggage to arrive at the luggage carousel from an airplane. The tracking system 100 may analyze the amount of time it takes luggage tracking devices of other users to arrive at the luggage carousel and provide an estimate based on those amounts of time. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 determines an estimate for the amount of time will take for a luggage tracking device to arrive at the luggage carousel based on which airport the user has arrived at. The tracking system 100 may also analyze the paths luggage tracking devices take in an airport from an airplane to a luggage carousel and, based on those paths, provide a real-time time estimate to the user. For example, if the average wait time is 30 minutes and the luggage tracking device is half way to the luggage carousel from the airplane, the tracking system 100 may update the wait time estimate to 15 minutes.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user if a tracking device typically does not move and the tracking device suddenly begins to move. For example, a tracking device may be coupled to an object that typically does not move, such as a piece of art, a safe, an unused car, a desktop computer, a passport, or a file cabinet. If the tracking device moves (e.g. is located in a location different from where it was originally, or a motion-detection sensor of the tracking device, such as an accelerometer, detects movement), the tracking system 100 may notify the user that the tracking device is potentially lost or stolen. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 only notifies the user that the tracking device has moved if the mobile device is not located within a threshold distance of the tracking device.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user if a pet coupled to a pet tracking device is taken for a walk. The tracking system 100 may determine if a pet is being taken out for a walk if the pet tracking device is following a path that the pet tracking device follows regularly (e.g. weekly, when a pet walker comes to walk the pet). If the pet tracking device deviates from paths the pet tracking device has taken in the past, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that the pet is potentially lost rather than that the pet is on a walk. Additionally, if the tracking system 100 determines that the pet is on a walk but that the path taken by the pet tracking device is different from a typical path of a walk (e.g. significantly longer or shorter), the tracking system 100 may provide a notification describing the difference to the user.

User Behavior:

The tracking system 100 can identify a tracking device 106 as potentially lost in response to a comparison of current user location and behavior and historical user location and behavior. For instance, the tracking system 100 can determine that a user commonly brings a tracking device 106 with the user during particular times of the day (determined, for instance, based on historical communicative connections between the tracking device and a mobile device 102 of the user). In such instances, if the user is determined to not have the tracking device 106 during similar times of the day, the tracking system 100 can flag the tracking device as potentially lost. Likewise, the tracking system 100 can determine that when a mobile device 102 of a user is historically communicatively connected to a first tracking device in a collection of tracking devices, the user is historically commonly connected to the remaining tracking devices in the collection of tracking devices. In such instances, if the user's mobile device 102 is communicatively connected to the first tracking device in the collection but not the second tracking device in the collection, the tracking system 100 can flag the second tracking device as potentially lost.

Similarly, user behavior can trigger a mobile device 102 to establish a geofence around a tracking device 106 or otherwise modify the operation of the tracking device or the mobile device, according to other embodiments. In some embodiments, user behavior or behavior patterns can be used to reduce or increase a communication range of the mobile device 102 or a tracking device 106. For example, if a user enters a vehicle, the Bluetooth range of the mobile device 102 can be reduced to a first threshold range, and can be maintained at that first threshold range until the user leaves the vehicle and walks away. The tracking system 100 can predict a state of a tracking device 106 based on historical user location and behavior. For instance, the tracking system 100 can determine that users commonly bring a particular type of object coupled to a tracking device when the users move from a first location to a second location. In such instances, the tracking system 100 can determine that the user of a tracking device 106 coupled to the particular type of object is in the first location, and can predict that the user will want to bring the object to the second location. Likewise, the tracking system 100 can determine that a user commonly drives a particular vehicle on weekend mornings, and can predict that the user will need to bring the user's wallet coupled to a tracking device 106 before the user drives the vehicle.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart for a method of identifying a tracking device as potentially lost based on historical movement behavior, according to one embodiment. Alternate embodiments may contain more, fewer, or different steps, or the steps may be performed in an order different from the one shown in FIG. 8.

The tracking system 100 determines 800 a current movement behavior of a user's tracking device, and determines 810 a historical movement behavior. The historical movement behavior can be historical movement behavior of the tracking device, the user, or the user's mobile device. It should also be noted that in some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can determine a current movement behavior of a user, or of a user's mobile device. The tracking system 100 determines if the current movement behavior differs from the historical movement behavior. If the current movement behavior differs from the historical movement behavior (e.g. by more than a threshold amount), the tracking system identifies 830 the tracking device as potentially lost. The tracking system 100 generates 730 a notification identifying the tracking device and indicating that the tracking device is potentially lost, and provides 740 the generated notification to the user's mobile device. The user's mobile device can be configured to display the notification to the user.

Examples:

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user if the user has potentially dropped a tracking device. For example, if the tracking system 100 detects that the user may have dropped a tracking device coupled to the user's keys or wallet, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that the tracking device was potentially dropped and provide the location of the tracking device to the user in the notification. The tracking system 100 may detect a dropped tracking device if the tracking device is moving similarly to and in conjunction with the mobile device and the tracking device stops moving while the mobile device keeps moving, or the movement of the tracking device differs by more than a threshold from the movement of the mobile device. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 provides notifications to the user based on the user's routine. If the user regularly visits a location during a particular time period and brings one or more tracking devices while visiting the location, the tracking system 100 may provide notifications to the user that remind the user to bring the tracking devices or notify the user that they potentially forgot to bring one or more of the tracking devices. For example, if the user visits a gym every week, the tracking system 100 may provide notifications to the user to bring gym tracking devices (e.g. a gym shoes tracking device or a gym bag tracking device) to the gym. Similarly, if the user travels regularly, the tracking system 100 may notify the user to bring travel tracking devices (e.g. a passport tracking device or a luggage tracking device) before the user travels to the airport. If the user is a student and goes to class regularly, the tracking system 100 can provide a notification to bring tracking devices coupled to class supplies (e.g. textbooks, a laptop, pencil case, notebook, homework/homework folder), or may notify the user if the user has potentially forgotten a class supply tracking device. In some embodiments, the user can specify routine activities for which the tracking system 100 should provide notifications or can specify time ranges during which the tracking system 100 should provide notifications. For example, if the user goes to the gym on Tuesdays, the user may specify to the tracking system 100 to provide reminder notifications about gym tracking devices on Tuesdays or when the user is going to or at the gym.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can provide reminder notifications to the user to use objects that the user needs to interact with regularly. The tracking system 100 may determine if the user is near a tracking device coupled to one of the objects and, if the user has not been near the tracking device within a certain time period, the tracking system 100 may notify the user to use the object coupled to the tracking device. For example, the user may be notified to use a pill box/medicine, a toothbrush, a mouth guard, or weights/exercise equipment. In some embodiments, the tracking device is coupled to an object that is related to a chore the user needs to perform on a regular basis, such as a pet food bowl, a mailbox, a washer/dryer, a dishwasher, a sink, or a trash can.

External Data:

The tracking system 100 can identify a tracking device 106 as potentially lost or can predict a state of the tracking device based on data received from an external data source 112. The external data source 112 can be an external database, a website, a digital or network service, an external device or system, a communication, or any other suitable source. In some embodiments, data can be requested from the external data source 112 by the tracking system 100 or a mobile device 102, for instance via an API associated with the external source. The data can be requested from the external data source 112 at the explicit request of a user of the mobile device 102, periodically, or in response to the occurrence of an event (for instance, the movement of a tracking device 106, the communicative coupling of the tracking device to the mobile device, locating the tracking device, the movement or location of the user, or any other suitable criteria).

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart for a method of identifying a tracking device as potentially useful to user based on external data, according to one embodiment. Alternate embodiments may contain more, fewer, or different steps, or the steps may be performed in an order different from the one shown in FIG. 9.

The tracking system 100 determines 900 a location of a user's tracking device, where the tracking device is coupled to an object. The tracking system 100 determines 910 a location of a user, and determines 920 whether the tracking device location is more than a threshold distance from the user's location. If the tracking device location is more than the threshold distance from the user location, the tracking system 100 accesses 930 external data from an external source, where the external data is associated with the object coupled to the tracking device. The tracking system 100 determines 940 that possession of the object is likely to be useful to the user based on the external data. The tracking system 100 generates 950 a notification identifying the tracking device and recommending that the user obtain the object, and provides 960 the generated notification to the user's mobile device. The user's mobile device can be configured to display the notification to the user.

Examples:

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 receives financial transaction information from a bank or a budgeting system to detect fraudulent charges to the user's account. The tracking system 100 may receive information identifying transactions charged to the user's credit card and identifying where the transactions occurred. If a transaction occurred at a store that the wallet tracking device has not been in or was not in at the time of the transaction, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that the transaction at the store is potentially fraudulent. In some embodiments, the notification of the potential fraudulent charge may include an option to notify the credit card company of the fraudulent charge.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 receives sales information from a vendor system regarding sales that are available near the user based on tracking devices near the user. If the tracking system 100 detects that a tracking device is near the user (e.g. within a threshold distance of the mobile device), and the tracking device is coupled to an object, the tracking system 100 may provide a notification with information about a sale that is relevant to the object. For example, if the user is carrying a gym bag tracking device and is walking through a store, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that there is a sale on energy drinks or water. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 provides notifications with sales information based on a tracking device not being located near the user. For example, if the user is carrying a luggage tracking device, but a toiletry bag tracking device is not located near the user, the tracking system 100 may notify the user of sales to purchase toiletries in a nearby store.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 receives parking regulation information from a database. The parking regulation information may describe where a user can park a car and for how long the user can park the car there. The tracking system 100 can provide notifications to a user if the user has parked their car in a spot for too long. For example, if a car tracking device is located in a parking spot that has a two hour parking limit, the user may be notified after an hour and a half that the car tracking device needs to be moved soon. If the user paid a parking meter for the parking spot, the tracking system 100 may provide a notification to the user when the parking meter timer is getting low, and the notification may include an option to pay more money into the parking meter. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 determines which parking meter is associated with the car tracking device based on the location of the car tracking device. Additionally, the tracking system 100 may notify the user if the car tracking device is potentially parked in a parking spot that the car is not allowed to be parked in. For example, if street parking on a street is restricted on Mondays and the car tracking device is located on the restricted street on a Monday, the user may be notified that their car is potentially parked illegally.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 receives information about a user's schedule and provides notifications to the user based on the user's schedule. The schedule information can include information about a user's calendar from a calendaring system or a user's messages (e.g. emails, texts, instant messages) from a messaging system. The schedule information may describe events the user must attend, including what the events are, when they are, and where they are. The tracking system 100 may provide notifications to the user to remind the user to bring certain tracking devices to an event or to notify the user that they potentially left a tracking device behind. For example, the tracking system 100 may remind the user to bring a wallet tracking device, a keys tracking device, a watch tracking device, or a glasses tracking device to events on the user's schedule. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 provides a notification to the user based on what event is on the user's schedule. For example, if the schedule information shows that the user is going to class and does not have a class tracking device (e.g. a textbook tracking device, pencil case tracking device, notebook tracking device), the tracking system 100 may notify the user that they potentially forgot the class tracking device. In some embodiments, the schedule information includes the type of the class (e.g., Biology, English, History) the user needs to attend, and the tracking system 100 may identify the class tracking device as potentially lost based on the type of the class.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 receives travel information for the user from a travel agency or a transport service and provides notifications based on the travel information. The travel information can include the user's start location, destination, departure time, arrival time, or transportation hubs the user may be traveling through. In some embodiments, the travel information is determined based on the user's emails or calendar received by the tracking system 100. The tracking system 100 may provide a notification to the user to pack certain objects based on the user's destination. For example, if the user is traveling to a cold place and a jacket tracking device is not located near a luggage tracking device, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that they should pack a jacket. The tracking system 100 can notify the user that their luggage is potentially lost if a luggage tracking device is not located at the correct transportation hub (determined based on information received from a travel system) when the user arrives at the transportation hub. For example, if a luggage tracking device is located at an airport that is different from the one the user arrived at, the user may be notified that the luggage tracking device is at the wrong airport.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can notify a travel hub or a transportation service if a user's luggage takes a long time to reach a luggage carousel or if the user's luggage was lost. The tracking system 100 can determine if a user's luggage took a long time to reach a luggage carousel or if the user's luggage was lost based on the location of a luggage tracking device. If the tracking system 100 notifies the travel hub or transportation service about delayed or lost luggage, the tracking system 100 may receive a coupon, gift card, offer, or the like for the user from the travel hub or transportation service. For example, the travel hub or transportation service may provide the user with an offer for a free coffee or a discount on a future trip.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 receives weather information from a weather service and can provide notifications to the user based on the weather information. The weather information includes information about the weather in a geographic area, including high and low temperatures, rain/snow forecasts, wind forecasts, or humidity forecasts. The tracking system 100 may provide notifications to the user if the user is not located near a tracking device coupled to an object that will be necessary or helpful for the forecasted weather in the weather information. For example, if the weather information forecasts rain in the user's geographic area and a jacket tracking device is not located near the user, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that it will rain soon and that the user does not have their jacket. The user may receive a similar notification if the user is not located near an umbrella tracking device, a rain boot tracking device, or a hat tracking device. Similarly, if the weather information forecasts snow in the user's geographic area, the tracking system 100 may provide the user with a notification reminding them to bring a coat tracking device, an ear muff tracking device, or a scarf tracking device. If the weather information forecasts warm weather in the user's geographic area, the tracking system 100 may provide the user with a notification reminding them to bring a water bottle tracking device, a sunscreen tracking device.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 receives information about natural disasters or emergency situations near the user and may notify the user of the locations of tracking devices coupled to emergency supplies. Examples of natural disasters can include flooding, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, and forest fires. Examples of emergency situations can include power outages, water outages, police activity, and building fires. The tracking system 100 can notify a user of the location of tracking supplies coupled to emergency supplies, including a fire extinguisher, extra water, extra food, and flashlights. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 notifies the user of the location of a tracking device coupled to an object carried by the user's child if the tracking system receives information about a natural disaster or emergency situation.

Sensor Data:

The tracking system 100 can identify a tracking device 106 as potentially lost or can predict a state of the tracking device based on data received from one or more tracking device sensors. The tracking device sensors can include one or more of: movement sensors (such as accelerators, gyroscopes, and the like), location determination sensors (such as a GPS transceiver, altimeters, and the like), orientation sensors, proximity sensors, communication sensors (such as a Bluetooth antenna or a Wifi antenna), temperature sensors, pressure sensors, light sensors, touch sensors (such as a capacitive touch screen), audio sensors (such as a microphone), or any other suitable sensor. The tracking device 106 can obtain sensor data in response to requesting sensor data from the sensors, automatically (as the sensors receive/generate the data), in response to a request from a mobile device 102 or a user of the mobile device, in response to a request from the tracking system 100, and the like. The tracking device 106 can forward the sensor data to a mobile device 102, which in turn can forward the sensor data to the tracking system 100.

The tracking system 100 can identify a tracking device 106 as potentially lost based on sensor data received from the tracking device. For instance, if a user leaves the tracking device 106 at home, and sensor data is received from the tracking device indicating that the tracking device has moved, the tracking system 100 can identify the tracking device as potentially lost (or in this case, potentially stolen). Likewise, if sensor data is received from a first tracking device indicating that a temperature has fallen below a particular threshold, the tracking system can predict that a user might need an object coupled to a second tracking device in order to stay warm.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart for a method of identifying a tracking device as potentially lost based on sensor data, according to one embodiment. Alternate embodiments may contain more, fewer, or different steps, or the steps may be performed in an order different from the one shown in FIG. 10.

The tracking system 100 determines 1000 a location of a user's tracking device that is coupled to an object. The tracking system 100 determines 1010 a location of a user, and determines 1020 whether the tracking device location is more than a threshold distance from the user's location. If the tracking device location is more than the threshold distance from the user location, the tracking system 100 accesses 1030 sensor data from one or more sensors within the tracking device. The tracking system 100 identifies 1040 identifies the tracking device as potentially lost based on the sensor data. The tracking system 100 generates 1050 a notification identifying the tracking device and identifying the tracking device as potentially lost, and provides 1060 the generated notification to the user's mobile device. The user's mobile device can be configured to display the notification to the user.

Examples:

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 uses accelerometer data from an accelerometer in a tracking device to determine if the user has dropped the tracking device and may identify the tracking device as potentially lost. For example, if the accelerometer data describes a sudden downward acceleration of the tracking device and then a sudden deceleration as the tracking device reaches the ground, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that the user potentially dropped the tracking device. In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 only notifies the user that the tracking device is potentially lost if the tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the user.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 uses thermometer data from a thermometer in a tracking device to notify a user if an area is too warm or too cold for an object coupled to the tracking device or if the tracking device is outside when it should not be. The tracking system 100 may notify the user that the tracking device is potentially lost or that the tracking device is outside. For example, if the user leaves their pet outside on a cold day and thermometer data from a pet tracking device indicates that the temperature is below a threshold, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that it is potentially too cold outside for the pet. Similarly, if the user leaves a laptop tracking device outside, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that the laptop is potentially lost based on thermometer data from the tracking device that it is warm. Such a tracking device can be coupled to a laptop, a child, a pet, a book, a wallet, keys, or any other object a user may leave outside.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 uses altimeter data from an altimeter in a water bottle tracking device to notify the user to drink water to keep hydrated. If the tracking system 100 determines that the water bottle tracking device is located near the user, and the altimeter data from the water bottle tracking device indicates that the water bottle tracking device is at a high altitude, the tracking system 100 may provide a notification to the user to drink from the water bottle to keep hydrated. Similarly, if the user is at a high altitude and a water bottle tracking device is not located near the user, the user may be notified that the water bottle tracking device is lost or that the water bottle tracking device should be brought with the user when the user goes outside. If the user is at a high altitude, the tracking system 100 also may notify the user to use or find a tracking device coupled to sunscreen, a hat, a jacket, a backpack, sunglasses, or any other object that may be helpful in a high altitude environment. In some embodiments, the tracking system uses thermometer data from a thermometer in the water bottle tracking device to notify the user to drink water.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 receives barometer data from a barometer in a tracking device to determine if it is about to rain. If the barometer data indicates that it is about to rain (e.g. the barometric pressure begins to drop) and a rain-gear tracking device (e.g. a jacket tracking device) is not located near the user, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that the rain-gear tracking device is lost or that the user should bring the rain-gear tracking device when going outside.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 uses audio data from an audio sensor in a tracking device to determine if an object coupled to the tracking device is potentially being stolen. If the audio data from a tracking device indicates that a window or a door has been broken, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that someone may be breaking into their house and may identify the tracking device as potentially lost. The tracking system 100 also may use accelerometer data to determine if a tracking device coupled to an object has been stolen. For example, if audio data indicates that a window has been broken and/or accelerometer data indicates that the tracking device is moving, the tracking system 100 may notify the user that the tracking device has potentially been stolen and may identify the tracking device as potentially lost.

It should be emphasized that in some embodiments, identifying a tracking device as lost or predicting a state of a tracking device can be based on any combination of the above circumstances. For example, a tracking device can be identified as potentially lost based on a proximity of the tracking device to other tracking devices and based on historical behavior of the tracking device. Likewise, a state of the tracking device can be predicted based on a combination of a movement of the tracking device and based on sensor data received from the tracking device.

Examples:

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 uses audio data from an audio sensor in a tracking device and the tracking device's proximity to a geographic location to notify the user that the tracking device has potentially been stolen. If the audio data from a tracking device indicates that a window or a door has been broken, and the tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of a geographic location or within certain geographic boundaries (e.g. a user's home), the tracking system 100 may notify the user that the tracking device has potentially been stolen.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can notify the user of potential fraudulent financial transaction based on the behavior of a wallet tracking device. The tracking system 100 can receive financial transaction information from a bank or a budgeting system. If the financial transaction information describes a financial transaction at a store, but the historical behavior of the wallet tracking device suggests that the user has not been in the store, the tracking system 100 may notify the user of the potentially fraudulent financial transaction. For example, if the financial transaction information includes a credit card charge at a first restaurant on a Wednesday, however the wallet tracking device is typically located in another restaurant on Wednesdays, the tracking system 100 may notify the user of the potentially fraudulent charge at the first restaurant.

The tracking device system 100 can prompt a user of a mobile device 102 to opt-in to one or more types of interventions, for instance via a mobile device interface. For example, the tracking system 100 can determine that a tracking device 106 is part of a tracking device collection, and can suggest to a user of a mobile device 102 that the mobile device receive intervention notifications when the distance between the tracking device and other tracking devices in the tracking device collection exceeds a threshold. If the user opts-in to a suggested intervention, the tracking system 100 stores the opt-in and provides notifications associated with the intervention in response to the circumstances associated with the intervention being trigger. If the user does not opt-in to a suggestion intervention, the tracking system 100 will not provide notifications associated with the intervention, even if the circumstances associated with the intervention are triggered.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart for a method of generating an opt-in notification for identifying a tracking device as potentially lost, according to one embodiment. Alternate embodiments may contain more, fewer, or different steps, or the steps may be performed in an order different from the one shown in FIG. 11.

The tracking system 100 accesses 1100 criteria for identifying a user's tracking device as potentially lost. The criteria can be associated with one or more properties of the tracking device. The tracking system 100 accesses 1110 information associated with the one or more properties of the tracking device, and identifies 1120 the tracking device as potentially lost based on the accessed criteria and the accessed information associated with the one or more properties of the tracking device. The tracking system 100 generates 1130 an interface including an option to opt-in to notifications identifying the tracking device as potentially lost in response to the accessed criteria being satisfied, and provides 1140 the generated interface to the user's mobile device. The mobile device can be configured to display the interface to the user. In response to the user opting-in to receiving the notifications, the tracking system 100 generates 1150 a notification that the tracking device is potentially lost and provides the generated notification to the mobile device for display to the user.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 can prompt a user of a mobile device 102, via a notification presented by the mobile device, to configure a tracking device 106 to operate in a particular mode based on a predicted state of the tracking device. For instance, if a tracking device 106 is predicted to be in motion or is predicted to move to an unfamiliar location, the tracking system 100 can instruct the mobile device 102 to display a notification including an option to configure the tracking device to operate in a high performance mode (e.g., the tracking device can increase a frequency of advertisements/communications broadcasted by the tracking device to increase the likelihood that the tracking device is able to communicatively couple to the mobile device or a community mobile device 104). Likewise, if a tracking device 106 is predicted to be stationary for an interval of time, the tracking system 100 can instruct the mobile device 102 to display a notification including an option to configure the tracking device to operate in a power saving mode (e.g., the tracking device can decrease the frequency of advertisements/communications broadcasted by the tracking device in order to preserve power).

If the user selects to reconfigure the tracking device 106 to operate in a particular mode as suggested by the notification (for instance, by selecting a selectable option displayed by the notification), the mobile device 102 can reconfigure the tracking device, and can inform the tracking system 100 that the user reconfigured the tracking device. In the future, if the tracking system 100 predicts a similar tracking device state, the tracking system can instruct the mobile device 102 to similarly configure the tracking device 106 without requiring the mobile device to display a similar notification and without requiring the user to affirmatively select to configure the tracking device to operate in the suggested mode.

Examples:

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 prompts the user to opt into notifications about a luggage tracking device if the tracking system 100 determines the user is traveling. The user can select to receive notifications about whether the luggage tracking device is on the correct airplane, whether the luggage tracking device arrived at the correct airport, or an estimate for how long it will take for the luggage tracking device to arrive at a luggage carousel.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 prompts the user to opt into or modify the circumstances under which the user is notified when a tracking device is not located within a threshold distance of the mobile device. For example, if the user leaves a wallet tracking device or a keys tracking device on a desk in the user's office and the user leaves the office without bringing the wallet tracking device or the keys tracking device, the user may not want a notification while the user is still within the office building. Thus, the tracking system 100 may prompt the user to adjust the threshold distance for which lost determinations are made for one or more tracking devices. Additionally, if the user does not want to receive notifications about a tracking device not being located within a threshold distance of the user, the user may be prompted to disable the notifications regarding that tracking device. For example, if a user lends their car to other people, the user may disable notifications about a car tracking device.

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 prompts the user to configure a tracking device to operate in a particular mode. For example, the user may configure a tracking device to operate in a power saving mode if the tracking device is coupled to an object that is predicted to be stationary for a period of time, such as a safe, artwork, a desktop computer, a jewelry box, or a television. The user may also configure a tracking device to operate in a power saving mode if the tracking device is coupled to an object (such as a television remote, a pet, or weights/exercise equipment) that is predicted to be located within a geographic area, such as a home, an office, or a store. The user may configure a tracking device to operate in a high performance mode if the tracking device is coupled to an object that is predicted be in an unknown/unfamiliar area or is predicted to move, such as a car, luggage, a wallet, or keys. In some embodiments, the user may configure a tracking device to operate in different modes based on where the tracking device is located. For example, a pet tracking device may operate in a power saving mode when the pet tracking device is located within a home and may operate in a high performance mode if the tracking device is located outside the home.

The tracking device interventions described herein can beneficially enable a user to know that a tracking device is lost before the user even realizes the tracking device is lost. Likewise, a tracking device intervention can remind a user to bring an object coupled to a tracking device with the user when the user moves from a first location to a second location (e.g., on the way to work) before the user gets too far away from the first location. In addition, a tracking device intervention can suggest a user take an action (such as bringing an object coupled to a tracking device) based on a predicted state of the tracking device (e.g., the object coupled to the tracking device is likely to be useful to the user). In each of these circumstances, the user is provided with important or useful information before the user realizes that such information would be important or useful, thereby beneficially improving a user's experience with the tracking device and the tracking system 100.

Vehicle Geofence

In some embodiments, a combination of the techniques used above can be used to intelligently establish a geofence around the last known location of a vehicle (hereinafter a “vehicle geofence”). A vehicle geofence can be established by first determining that a user is traveling in a vehicle equipped with a tracking device 102. Example vehicles include a car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, aircraft, watercraft, or any other suitable form of personal transport. A vehicle can be associated with a tracking device 102 affixed on or stored within the vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 12A illustrates an example environment including a vehicle tracking device and mobile device connected to the vehicle tracking device. The environment of FIG. 12A includes a mobile device 102 c, a vehicle tracking device 106 v, a vehicle 1210, and representations of mobile device communication range 1215 and a reduced mobile device communication range 1220.

In some implementations, the mobile device 102 c can determine that an associated user 103 c (not shown) is traveling in the vehicle 1210 based on a connection between the mobile device and the tracking device 106 v associated with the vehicle 1210 (hereinafter, the vehicle tracking device 106 v). In some embodiments, additional factors can be used to determine that the mobile device 102 c is traveling in the vehicle 1210, for example, if the mobile device 102 c has been connected to the vehicle tracking device 106 v for greater than a threshold amount of time, based on a strength of the connection between the mobile device 102 c and the vehicle tracking device 106 v, if the mobile device 102 c is moving while remaining connected to the vehicle tracking device 106 v, or any other suitable factor. Once the mobile device 102 c has determined that the user 103 c is traveling in the vehicle 1210, the communication range 1215 of the mobile device 102 c can be reduced to a reduced communication range 1220. In some embodiments, the communication range of the tracking device 106 v is reduced in addition to or instead of reducing the communication range of the mobile device 102 c, for example based on an instruction received from the mobile device 102 c. The communication range of a mobile device 102 c or a tracking device 106 v, for example the mobile device communication range 1215, can be reduced by lowering the transmission power of one or more radios or antennas of the mobile device 102 c or tracking device 106 v, for example a Bluetooth radio of the tracking device 106 v, by a predetermined amount or to a predetermined level. For example, the transmission power of the mobile device 102 c can be reduced to a predetermined level at which the expected reduced communication range 1220 has a radius of 15 feet. In other implementations, the mobile device communication range 1215 is progressively reduced until the vehicle tracking device 106 v is disconnected, then slightly increased (for example by incremental steps of a predetermined threshold amount) until the vehicle tracking device 106 v is reconnected to the mobile device 102 c. Similarly, the mobile device 102 c can instruct the tracking device 106 v to reduce transmission power over the first network 108, for example instructing the tracking device 106 v to reduce transmission power of a Bluetooth radio of the tracking device 106 v through a message sent overt the first network 106 v.

As described above, some implementations of the system described herein use a wireless network with a limited communication range for communication between mobile devices 102 and tracking devices 106. For example, Bluetooth or BLE wireless networks can be used for communications between the mobile devices 102 and tracking devices 106. In some implementations, the reduction of mobile device communication range 1215 (and/or the tracking device 106 v communication range) while traveling in the vehicle 1210 isn't likely to have a large practical effect on other uses of the second network 110 by the mobile device 102 c, as the limited communication range of the second network 110 (for example, BLE) is unlikely to be useable to connect to devices not located in the vehicle.

FIG. 12B illustrates an example environment for geofencing a vehicle tracking device. The environment of FIG. 12B includes the mobile device 102 c, vehicle tracking device 106 v, and vehicle 1210, as well as representations of reduced communication ranges 1220 and a representation of a geofence 1230.

Eventually, the user 103 c will exit the vehicle 1210 with the mobile device 102 c and both the user and mobile device will move to a location outside of the vehicle. At this point, the mobile device 102 c is still communicating over the second network 110 at a reduced communication range 1220. After leaving the vehicle 1210, the mobile device 102 c will disconnect from the tracking device 106 v, for example, when the mobile device 102 c moves sufficiently far from the tracking device 106 v that the tracking device 106 v is located outside of the reduced communication range 1220 of the mobile device 102 c. In some embodiments, the disconnection of the tracking device 106 v from the mobile device 102 c triggers a disconnection event within the mobile device. According to some implementations, a disconnection event is an event triggered by the operating system of a mobile device when the mobile device operating system detects that a tracking device 106 has disconnected from the mobile device 102. In some implementations, a mobile application of the mobile device 102 can be notified of the device disconnection event (or other triggering event) and in response is permitted by the mobile device operating system to establish a geofence based on the disconnection event. For example, a disconnection event in an iOS operating system can be triggered when the tracking device 106 v disconnects from the mobile device 102 c. In response to the disconnection event, the geofence 1230 can be established based on the current position of the mobile device 102 c.

In some implementations, a vehicle geofence is centered around a location of the mobile device 102 c, for example, the location of the mobile device 102 c at the time of disconnection from the tracking device 106 v, at the location of the mobile device at the time of the establishment of the geofence, or at a past location of the mobile device. Similarly, the geofence 1230 can be established as a geographic location with a range slightly larger than the reduced communication range 1220 of the mobile device 102 c. In other embodiments, for example embodiments where the communication range of the tracking device 106 v is reduced, the geofence 1230 is established as a geographic location with a range slightly larger than the reduced communication range of the tracking device 106 v. Additionally, in some implementations, the mobile device 102 c generates the geofence 1230 centered around a past position of the mobile device 102 c. In some embodiments, the radius of the geofence 1230 is selected such that the tracking device 106 v is located within the geofence while the vehicle 1210 is parked.

After the geofence 1230 is established, the communication range of the mobile device 102 c can be returned to the mobile device communication range 1215 from the reduced communication range 1220 and normal operation of the mobile device 102 c can be resumed. Similarly, a reduced communication range of a tracking device 106 v can be returned to the normal communication range of the tracking device after disconnecting from the mobile device 102 c, after a predetermined time period, or based on any other suitable trigger. A vehicle geofencing system using reduced mobile device or tracking device communication range can result in more accurate geofences, for example with a comparatively smaller range, when compared to other techniques for generating a vehicle geofence not using a reduced communication range for the mobile device 102 c or the tracking device 106. A geofence 1230 can end or be disabled in response to any suitable trigger, for example, the mobile device 102 c reconnecting to the vehicle tracking device 106 v, an explicit instruction to disable the geofence from a user, and the like.

In some embodiments, when a vehicle tracking device 106 v is detected at a location outside of a vehicle geofence associated with that vehicle tracking device, the tracking system 100 can flag the vehicle tracking device 106 v as potentially lost. In response to detecting that a vehicle tracking device 106 v is no longer within a determined geofence 1230, the tracking system 100 can notify the mobile device 102. For example, a SMS message can be sent to the mobile device 102 c flagging the vehicle as potentially stolen and instructing the user 103 of the mobile device 102 c to check on the vehicle 1210. According to some embodiments, the vehicle 1210 may be remotely disabled by the tracking system 100 if the tracking device 106 v is determined to be outside the geofence 1230.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart of a method for establishing a geofence around a vehicle tracking device, according to some embodiments. The process of FIG. 13 begins when a mobile device connects 1300 to a tracking device associated with a vehicle. The mobile device can then determine 1310 if the user travelling in the vehicle associated with the tracking device. Next, the communication range of the mobile device can be reduced 1320 from a first range to a second reduced communication range. In some embodiments, the mobile device resumes normal operation at the reduced communication range while connected to the vehicle tracking device. When the mobile device disconnects 1330 from the vehicle tracking device a tracking device disconnection event can be triggered 1340 in the mobile device. Next, in response to the disconnection event, a geofence can be established 1350 around the current location of the mobile device. Finally, the mobile device communication range can be returned 1360 to the first range. In some embodiments, if the vehicle tracking device moves outside of the geofence before the user returns to the vehicle (for instance, another user's mobile device detects the vehicle tracking device at a location outside of the geofence and reports the vehicle tracking device location to the tracking system), the user can be notified that the vehicle may be stolen.

Additional Considerations

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure.

Any of the devices or systems described herein can be implemented by one or more computing devices. A computing device can include a processor, a memory, a storage device, an I/O interface, and a communication interface, which may be communicatively coupled by way of communication infrastructure. Additional or alternative components may be used in other embodiments. In particular embodiments, a processor includes hardware for executing computer program instructions by retrieving the instructions from an internal register, an internal cache, or other memory or storage device, and decoding and executing them. The memory can be used for storing data or instructions for execution by the processor. The memory can be any suitable storage mechanism, such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, solid state memory, and the like. The storage device can store data or computer instructions, and can include a hard disk drive, flash memory, an optical disc, or any other suitable storage device. The I/O interface allows a user to interact with the computing device, and can include a mouse, keypad, keyboard, touch screen interface, and the like. The communication interface can include hardware, software, or a combination of both, and can provide one or more interfaces for communication with other devices or entities.

Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of the invention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on information. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are commonly used by those skilled in the data processing arts to convey the substance of their work effectively to others skilled in the art. These operations, while described functionally, computationally, or logically, are understood to be implemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits, microcode, or the like. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient at times, to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules, without loss of generality. The described operations and their associated modules may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or any combinations thereof.

Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may be performed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules, alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, a software module is implemented with a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code, which can be executed by a computer processor for performing any or all of the steps, operations, or processes described.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, and/or it may comprise a general-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, which may be coupled to a computer system bus. Furthermore, any computing systems referred to in the specification may include a single processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing capability.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a product that is produced by a computing process described herein. Such a product may comprise information resulting from a computing process, where the information is stored on a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium and may include any embodiment of a computer program product or other data combination described herein.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for tracking a vehicle, comprising: connecting, by a mobile device, to a vehicle tracking device when the mobile device is configured to operate with a first communication range, the vehicle tracking device coupled to or located within an associated vehicle; determining, by the mobile device and while the mobile device is connected to the vehicle tracking device, that the mobile device is travelling in the vehicle associated with the vehicle tracking device; responsive to determining that the vehicle is in motion, reducing the communication range of the mobile device to a second communication range less than the first communication range; detecting, by the mobile device, that the vehicle tracking device has disconnected from the mobile device by detecting a disconnect event triggered by an operating system of the mobile device; and in response to detecting the disconnect event triggered by the operating system of the mobile device: establishing a geofence around the current location of the mobile device; and returning the communication range of the mobile device to the first communication range.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing a geofence around the current location of the mobile device comprises: determining the current location of the mobile device; selecting a range for the geofence; and associating the current location and the selected range with the vehicle tracking device.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the range for the geofence is selected based on the second communication range.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the geofence comprises: determining that the mobile device is located within the geofence; determining that the tracking device is not located within the geofence based on a determination that the vehicle tracking device is not connected to the mobile device; and increasing the radius of the geofence.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle tracking device is located within the geofence.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the location and range of the geofence to a central tracking system.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the central tracking system is configured to receive an updated location of the vehicle tracking device from a second mobile device.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the central tracking system is further configured to provide a notification to an owner of the mobile device that the vehicle may be lost or stolen in response to determining that the updated location of the vehicle tracking device is located outside of the geofence.
 9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform steps comprising: connecting, by a mobile device, to a vehicle tracking device when the mobile device is configured to operate with a first communication range, the vehicle tracking device coupled to or located within an associated vehicle; determining, by the mobile device and while the mobile device is connected to the vehicle tracking device, that the mobile device is travelling in the vehicle associated with the vehicle tracking device; responsive to determining that the vehicle is in motion, reducing the communication range of the mobile device to a second communication range less than the first communication range; detecting, by the mobile device, that the vehicle tracking device has disconnected from the mobile device by detecting a disconnect event triggered by an operating system of the mobile device; and in response to detecting the disconnect event triggered by the operating system of the mobile device: establishing a geofence around the current location of the mobile device; and returning the communication range of the mobile device to the first communication range.
 10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein establishing a geofence around the current location of the mobile device comprises: determining the current location of the mobile device; selecting a range for the geofence; and associating the current location and the selected range with the vehicle tracking device.
 11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the range for the geofence is selected based on the second communication range.
 12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein establishing the geofence comprises: determining that the mobile device is located within the geofence; determining that the tracking device is not located within the geofence based on a determination that the vehicle tracking device is not connected to the mobile device; and increasing the radius of the geofence.
 13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the vehicle tracking device is located within the geofence.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, the processor configured to perform further steps comprising providing the location and range of the geofence to a central tracking system.
 15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the central tracking system is configured to receive an updated location of the vehicle tracking device from a second mobile device.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the central tracking system is further configured to provide a notification to an owner of the mobile device that the vehicle may be lost or stolen in response to determining that the updated location of the vehicle tracking device is located outside of the geofence. 